GPEC provides facts, constraints and business drivers—not a completed forecast. This guide shows what to learn, what to calculate and how to defend an investment decision without giving away case answers.
Twenty questions in five minutes means approximately fifteen seconds per question. Every member completes the test, and the team average must reach at least 14/20 to remain eligible.
A step-by-step guide to the test format, the 15-second solving strategy, essential valuation and accounting bridges, practice questions, common traps and the final submission check.
Use full screen for the clearest formulas and model details.
EV = Equity Value + Debt − CashA simplified bridge from the value of shareholders’ equity to the value of the whole operating business.
Equity Value = EV − Debt + CashUse this direction when the question gives enterprise value and asks what belongs to shareholders.
EV = EBITDA × EV / EBITDA MultipleKeep the units consistent. If EBITDA is in millions, enterprise value will also be in millions.
Growth = (Revenueₜ ÷ Revenueₜ₋₁) − 1Convert the result to a percentage and check whether the direction makes sense.
Gross Profit = Revenue − COGS; Margin = Gross Profit ÷ RevenueCOGS is the direct cost of producing or purchasing what the company sells.
EBITDA Margin = EBITDA ÷ RevenueUseful for comparing operating profitability across years or companies of different sizes.
EBIT = EBITDA − D&AD&A is non-cash in the current period, but it represents the use and aging of long-term assets.
Net Debt = Total Debt − CashDo not subtract minimum cash if the case says that cash must remain in the business.
Entry Leverage = Opening Debt ÷ Entry EBITDAA 4.0× result means debt equals four times the selected EBITDA base.
FCF ≈ EBITDA − Cash Interest − Cash Taxes − Capex − Increase in NWCThis simplified version starts from EBITDA. An increase in net working capital is a use of cash.
MOIC = Exit Sponsor Equity ÷ Entry Sponsor EquityMOIC shows how many times the sponsor’s invested money is returned, without considering time by itself.
IRR = (Exit Equity ÷ Entry Equity)^(1 ÷ Years) − 1This shortcut works for one initial investment and one exit receipt with no interim cash flows.
These are simplified competition-preparation formulas. The definitions and instructions in the official case always control.
GPEC gives the company, historical evidence, transaction constraints and business drivers. Participants build the forecast, financing, debt paydown, exit value and return analysis themselves.
Follow the full modelling sequence from historical financials and assumptions through entry valuation, sources and uses, debt paydown, exit returns, sensitivities and the final INVEST or DO NOT INVEST recommendation.
Use full screen for the clearest formulas and model details.Market growth, historical performance, transaction terms, leverage limits, interest rates, required capex and other case evidence.
Revenue growth, margin path, financing level, debt paydown, exit case, downside protection and whether the company is investable.
Check that units, signs and years are consistent. Recalculate margins, growth and cash conversion before forecasting anything.
Translate market, pricing, volume, store or customer facts into your own revenue and margin assumptions. Document the reason for every assumption.
Project revenue, COGS, EBITDA, EBITDA margin, D&A, EBIT, taxes, capex and working capital using formulas rather than hard-coded answers.
Determine entry enterprise value, entry equity value and the implied entry EBITDA multiple. Follow the case definition of purchase price carefully.
Uses normally include equity purchase price, debt refinancing, fees and required cash funding. Sources normally include new debt, permitted target cash and sponsor equity.
Choose a defensible debt amount at or below the maximum leverage. Sponsor equity is the amount required to make total sources equal total uses.
Calculate beginning balance, interest, mandatory amortization, optional cash sweep and ending balance for every year while respecting minimum cash.
Apply a defensible exit multiple to exit-year EBITDA, subtract exit net debt and calculate the sponsor’s exit equity value.
Calculate MOIC and IRR, then test entry multiple, exit multiple, growth, margin and debt-paydown assumptions. Include a credible downside case.
Choose INVEST or DO NOT INVEST. Support the decision with the thesis, value-creation plan, downside protection, major risks and what would change your mind.
Sponsor Equity = Total Uses − Other SourcesEnding Debt = Beginning Debt − Amortization − Cash SweepExit EV = Exit EBITDA × Exit MultipleExit Equity = Exit EV − Exit Debt + Exit CashMOIC = Exit Equity ÷ Entry Sponsor EquityThe Final has no paper test. Teams have 15 minutes to present one coherent investment recommendation and 10 minutes to defend the model, assumptions and downside before the judges.
Learn how to turn the analysis into one coherent presentation, structure the 15-minute pitch, show the investment logic visually and defend assumptions during the 10-minute judge Q&A.
Use full screen for the clearest formulas and model details.Recommendation first: INVEST or DO NOT INVEST, with entry valuation, leverage, MOIC and IRR
Company and business model: how the company earns money and what drives demand
Investment thesis: two or three specific reasons the opportunity may create value
Historical performance: growth, margins, cash conversion and the most important trend
Forecast assumptions: pricing, volume, stores/customers, margins, capex and working capital
Transaction and financing: entry valuation, sources and uses, sponsor equity and leverage
Debt paydown: free cash flow, interest burden, mandatory amortization and cash sweep
Returns bridge: how operating growth, margin change, debt paydown and exit value create returns
Sensitivity and downside: what happens when growth is weaker or the exit multiple contracts
Risks and mitigants: what can break the thesis and what the sponsor can realistically control
Decision triggers: the evidence that would make the team change its recommendation
Put the key model outputs, debt schedule, returns bridge and sensitivities directly into the presentation. Keep the updated Excel model as supporting evidence instead of constantly switching between the workbook and slides.
Use the definitions consistently in the model, presentation and judge Q&A.